This invention relates generally to aircraft passenger seats and associated amenities, and more particularly, to a cantilevered tray table configured to slide horizontally to allow ingress/egress from a seat, as well a passenger suite including a cantilevered tray table.
Tray tables are associated with most every type and class of aircraft seat to provide a passenger with a flat, horizontal surface for working, dining, etc. Tray tables are typically configured to move between a stowed position when not in use, such as during taxi, takeoff and landing, and a deployed use position during a flight. In coach class seating, tray tables are often attached to the back of a forward positioned seat and pivot downward to a horizontal position for use by an aft-seated passenger. In seating arrangements in which there are no forward positioned seat, such as in premium class seating in which seats are isolated by privacy partitions, tray tables commonly stow to the side of the seat such as within a compartment, and thus require complex hinge assemblies and armatures that allow the tray table to lift, pivot and rotate into position over the passenger's lap.
In either of the aforementioned seating classes, a disadvantage of conventional tray table designs is that the tray table is typically required to be stowed to permit passenger ingress/egress from the seat. In conventional assemblies, stowing the tray table typically requires changing the horizontal orientation of the working surface, which requires the passenger to remove their articles beforehand. This is particularly inconvenient when the passenger intends on only briefly leaving his/her seat, for example to use the lavatory, and where alternate storage space for the articles is limited. It is further inconvenient to have to stow the tray table when adjusting the seat from an upright seating position to a horizontal bed position, particularly when the tray table is supporting food and beverages that are difficult to set elsewhere.
Accordingly, what is needed is a tray table configured for movement to permit ingress/egress from a passenger seat, all the while keeping the working surface of the tray table horizontal and accessible for passenger use. Such a tray table would enhance passenger comfort and convenience.